Anannya Socks, Knit Bazaar’s rejoinders and our reply

Anannya Socks & Inner's Industries Limited has issued a rejoinder to a report published by The Business Standard on 11 October, titled "Customs suspects at least 12 garment exporters misused bond facility", terming it "false and baseless."

In a statement issued on 18 October, the company said that the report was published unilaterally without any verification or discussion with the company authorities.

It further stated that "garments made from the imported materials were exported on 25 and 27 October 2024, and the export proceeds were duly repatriated. After the exports, officials from the Customs Intelligence Directorate visited the factory on 31 November 2024 for cutting supervision. The company submitted all relevant export documents during the visit."

A copy of the letter sent by the company to the Bond Commissionerate was also attached to the rejoinder.

Another company named "Knit Bazaar (Pvt) Ltd" also objected to the same report, calling it "false and exaggerated."

Signed by Md Imran Hossain, director of the Knit Bazaar, the rejoinder stated, "We import products according to buyers' requirements with BGMEA's UD (Utilisation Declaration) approval and complete the accounts through customs audit."

"We conduct our business in full compliance with the laws of the country," the company stated.

Our reply:

The report was written based on verified facts from documents obtained from the Customs authorities, which are in the possession of The Business Standard. During the making of the report, on 10 October, attempts were made to contact AnannyaSocks' Managing Director, Md Murad Hossain Shohagh, using the phone number listed on the BGMEA website, but the phone was found switched off.

In its response to the Customs Bond authorities, the company stated that the allegation of revenue evasion against it was baseless, false, and unacceptable. This confirms that such allegations exist, as reflected in their own letter. The Business Standard's report merely noted the existence of these allegations.

On the other hand, in the case of Knit Bazaar (Pvt) Limited, TBS reported the name based on documents from the Customs Authority. When TBS tried to contact its Managing Director, Rezaul Karim Reaz, on 10 October, his phone was also found switched off.